Page 91

“No. You’ve been doing what you thought was right.”

She offered him a tentative smile and a thankful tilt of her head.

“At the same meeting,” he went on, “Hampton agreed to take me under his wing.”

“Yes, Amelia told me. Her father will be a truly helpful connection, yes?”

“The Chancellor was impressed,” he confirmed. “But Scott was still concerned that our union would not appear to be unduly influenced.”

She chuckled half-heartedly. “Too late.”

He knew. “Only the two of us know, and I promise to keep your reputation safe.”

“I know you will. But all the way to January?” She dropped her head. “How am I ever going to keep what’s happened a secret?”

“Act?” he suggested.

She grunted. “What happened to my being enough?”

“That you are.” He took her hand. “Still, I cannot release you from your promise. Not yet. Confiding in your sisters would be a comfort, I’m sure. But we cannot take that chance. If any breath of scandal reaches the Chancellor, Gretna will be our only choice.”

“We couldn’t marry over the anvil. Millie’s and Nettie’s chances could be harmed. And Godmama would be mortified.”

He nodded. “An elopement, and the subsequent scandal, would both hurt their chances and break my mother’s heart. But she’d accept a special license, I’m sure.”

“Would she?” Lenora contemplated. “Do you think your mother will mind if we wed?”

“My mother? I suspect she’ll take credit!”

Her lip quirked. “I had thought she meant Amelia for you.”

“I considered and then discarded the possibility. She knew Amelia and I had been long acquainted and had no special attachment.” He rubbed his finger against his lower lip. “No. She definitely brought you here as a temptation to me.”

“I’m happy you were tempted, then.”

He groaned. “Temptation was never the problem. Indifference was not on my list.”

She cocked her head. “List?”

He promptly shifted the topic. “I believe my mother introduced you to Preston and Amelia so you could spend time with members of an influential family before the Season began.”

“She wanted me to have friends, you mean.” Lenora looked away, frowned, and then gasped. “Maybe she arranged for us all to meet because she knew Hampton and the Lord Chancellor were friends!”

Good God—he recalled his mother’s subtle nod—Lenora could be right.

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

For so long, he’d resented his parents for not preparing him for the world.

But his mother had gone through a great deal of trouble on his behalf of late, and, for most of the time, he’d been completely unaware. Were there other things he missed, too?

“When this period of secrecy is over, my mother and I are long overdue for a discussion.”

“Speaking of discussions,” she replied, “How long will we have to wait? When can I tell my sisters?”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to keep mum until January at the earliest.” He caught her eye. “But once we are safely wed, I will release you from your promise. You may chatter on with them about me as much as you wish.”

She pulled back her shoulders. “I would never say anything to anyone else, my sisters included, that I wouldn’t say to you.”